UC Regents Discuss Privacy and Information Security Initiative

The UC Regents ended their open session today by discussing President Mark Yudof’s Privacy and Information Security Initiative, which is aimed at protecting the information of students and the University of California system.

The proposed plan includes the establishment of a designated privacy official for each campus and a general committee focused on experimenting with new programs and implementing system-wide policies regarding information security.

Privacy has always been a matter of concern for the UC system, but this initiative will make the attention given to the topic more visible. “Security has been important to us for a very long time,” said Chief Privacy Officer Kent Wada from University of California, Los Angeles. “This initiative simply places privacy as one more thing valued by the University of California.”

President Yudof views the establishment of security and privacy officials for the UC system as an important step toward creating a policy that can be adopted by the whole system. “I view this as a structural solution,” said Yudof. “It will evolve over time. We have a complex legal terrain to navigate, but I’m happy that we’re on the right path.”

While no programs or policies have been detailed as of yet, the Privacy and Security Initiative is set to be finalized and implemented by the 2015 school year.